Focusing is a mode of inward bodily attention that most people don’t know about yet. It was first developed in 1960-early 70s by Eugene Gendlin and others in Chicago, following on work with Carl Rogers and Richard McKeon. Most of the information here is a mash-up of the Focusing Institute's materials (www.focusing.org) based on users' experiences since then.

Focusing is more than being in touch with your feelings and different from body work. Focusing occurs exactly at the interface of body-mind. It consists of specific steps for getting a body sense of how you are in a particular life situation. The body sense is unclear and vague at first, but if you pay attention it will open up into words or images and you experience a felt shift in your body.

In the process of Focusing, one experiences a physical change in the way that the issue is being lived in the body. We learn to live in a deeper place than just thoughts or feelings. The whole issue looks different and new solutions arise.

Steps

1

Say hello: (How does that whole thing feel in your body now?)

Find a comfortable position... Relax and close your eyes... Take a few deep breaths... and when you're ready just ask, "How am I inside right now?" Don't answer. Give an answer time to form in your body... Turn your attention like a searchlight into your inside feeling place and just greet whatever you find there. Practice taking a friendly attitude toward whatever is there. Just listen to your organism.

2

Begin to describe something:

Now something is here. You can sense it somewhere. Take some time now to notice just where it is in your body. Notice if it would feel right to begin to describe it, as simply as you might tell another person what you are aware of. You can use words, images, gestures, metaphors, whatever fits, captures, expresses somehow the quality of this whole thing. And when you've described it a bit, take some time to notice how your body responds to that. It's like you're checking the description with the body feeling, saying "Does this fit you well?"

3

Pick a problem.

Feel yourself magnetically pulled toward the one thing in your stack that most needs your attention right now. If you have any trouble letting it choose you, ask, "What is worst?" (or "What's best?" ?-- good feelings can be worked with too!). "What most needs some work right now? "What won't let go of me?" Pick one thing.

4

Let the felt sense form:

Ask "What does this whole thing feel like?". "What is the whole feel of it?" Don't answer with what you already know about it. Listen to your body. Sense the issue freshly. Give your body 30 seconds to a minute for the feel of "all of that" to form.

5

Find the handle:

Find a word, phrase, image, sound or gesture that feels like it matches, comes from, or will act as a 'handle' on the felt sense, the whole feel of it. Keep your attention on the area in your body where you feel it, and just let a word, phrase, image, sound or gesture appear that feels like a good fit.

6

Resonating the handle.

Say the word, phrase, image, sound or gesture back to yourself. Check it against your body. See if there is a sense of "rightness," an inner "yes, that's it". If there isn't, gently let go of that handle and let one that fits better appear.

7

Ask and receive:

Now we are going to ask the felt sense some questions. Some it will answer, some it won't. Receive whatever answers it gives. Ask the questions with an expectantly friendly attitude and be receptive to whatever it sends you.

Ask "What's the crux of this feeling?" "What's the main thing about it?" Don't answer with your head; let the body feeling answer. Now, breathe that answer out.

And ask, "What's wrong?" Imagine the felt sense as a shy child sitting on a stoop. It needs caring encouragement to speak. Go over to it, sit down, and gently ask, "What's wrong?" Wait. Now, breathe that answer out.

And ask, "What's the worst of this feeling?" "What makes it so bad?" Wait... Now, breathe that answer out of your system.

And ask, "What does this feeling need?" Wait... Now, breathe that answer out.

And now ask, "What is a good small step in the right direction for this thing?" "What is a step in the direction of fresh air?" Wait. Now, breathe that answer out.

And now ask, "What would my body feel like if this thing were all better, all resolved?" Move your body into the position or posture it would be in if this were all cleared up. This is called looking the answer up in the back of the book. Now, from this position, ask, "What's between me and here?" "What's in the way of it being all OK?" Wait. Now, breathe that answer out.

Finally, ask your felt sense space to send you the exactly right question you need at this moment. Now ask the felt sense that question. Don't answer with your head. Just hang out with the felt sense, keep it company, let it respond. Wait. Now, breathe that answer out.

8

Sense for a stopping place.

Take some time to sense inside if it is OK to end in a few minutes or if there something more that needs to be known first. If something more comes then take some time to acknowledge that.

9

Receive and experience what has changed:

Take some time to sense any changes that have happened in your body, especially anything which feels more open or released. This is sometimes called a 'shift'.

10

Let it know you're willing to come back:

You might want to say to It "I'm willing to come back if you need me."

11

Thank.

And you might want to thank what has come, and appreciate your body's process.

12

Bring awareness out.

Take some time to bring your awareness slowly outward again, feeling your hands and feet, being aware of the room and letting your eyes come naturally open.

Community Q&A

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Video

Tips

Getting an inventory of issues - making a list (optional step): Ask yourself, "What's in the way between me and feeling all fine right now?" Let whatever comes up, come up. Don't go inside any particular thing right now. Just stack each thing at a comfortable distance from you on the bench... Take inventory: "What's between me and feeling all fine right now?" [or "What are the main things..."]. If the list stops, ask "Except for that am I all fine?" If more comes up, add it to the stack. Stay distanced from your stack. Give me a signal when you are ready for the next step.

Note that only a few of these steps are common to every session. Getting a felt-sense, a handle, resonating, pausing-shifting, and thanking your body would be the ones most likely to give a sense of wholeness to the process.